Observations on the means of preserving the health of troops, by selecting healthy localities for their cantonments / by Edward Balfour ; read by Joseph Hume ... before the Statistical Society of London, on the 19th of May 1845.

  • Edward Green Balfour
Date:
[1845]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the means of preserving the health of troops, by selecting healthy localities for their cantonments / by Edward Balfour ; read by Joseph Hume ... before the Statistical Society of London, on the 19th of May 1845. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    which they tower to tlie hciprht of 4,000 feet; and to the eastward fhcv an elevated 2,000 feet above tlie table-land of the Dekhan. The surface of ihes( lulls has an area of 50 or GO miles, undulating, and in some parts hilly, wliicl prevents the rains collecting on the tenacious clayey soil, formed by tlu decomposition of the laterite, or iron ore rock, of which they are composed Iheir elevation is not sufficient to raise them above the influence of the monsoon, and the heavy rains that pour on the hills cause all the side to abandon them.* They are again crowded during the hot season by invalids, and others from the neighbouring stations, who seek refuge from the burnintj heats of the plains, to gather fresh vigour from the temperate climate, and interest the mind with the scenery of the hills. There are several important stations for European troops at short distances from those hills. I On the lower ranges of the Himalayas, on the north and north-west frontier iof the Bengal Presidency, stations for convalescents and regiments have been [formed, taking advantage of their elevation above the sea, to secure the health ■of the troops required in that important quarter of our territories. Subhathoo, ;in north latitude 30° 58' 12, and east longitude 76“ 68' 37, is now a British •cantonment, romantically situated in the district of Bareilly, 4,45G feet above :'fche ocean. One European regiment occupies the station. Almora is built on a ridge of mountains 5,400 feet above the level of the sea, in lat. 29 35' north, and long. 79° 40' east. The Almorah district is separated from Bareilly by the Kumaon hills, and, properly speaking, is only i subdivision of the Kumaon district. Two corps of artillery and two regi- | nents of native infantry are stationed at Almorah. At Simla (7,000 feet) •,here is only an irregular corps stationed. The Government have there jbunded a delightful station for their European invalids. “ The portion of the ^Himalayas visible from Simla is a depressed continuation of the chain, ex- pending from the emergence of the Sutlej, through the snow, to an abrupt jimit bordering close upon the plain of the Punjab, near the debouchure of the jlavee. Few, if any, of the detached peaks visible rise above 20,000 feet, ■hough the crest of Jumnotree may be seen from the highest point in Simla, jVhich is a conical hill named Jacko, 8,120 feet above the level of the sea.f It may be seen from the stations already formed, that the executive autho- jities have not overlooked the importance of these elevated regions as the leans of securing the health of the European stranger ; and if others of the I ill ranges, which cross our terrritories, be examined, many tracts ivould be iscovered where the British troops might be located, above the heats and P iseases of the plains, although there are also many places on the plains where ! * Bombay annual fall of rain '.—At Khandiilla, 1,740 feet above the sea, .ami 30 miles inl.anil, t38'76 inches of rain fell, while at Poonah, 40 miles further eastward, only 23'43 inches fell. The j'erage fall at tlie sanatorium, on the Mahabalcshwur, 25 miles due e.ast from the sea, and 4,500 '.‘t above its level, is 239 ’80 inches annu.ally. I Amount of Rain during June, July, August and September 1842. 1 Sanatorium Mahabalcshwur. Pamghurry. Poona. Bomb.ay. Inches. Inches. hiches. Inches. Monsoon, 1842 2S9-37 48’67 14-77 J 87-33 .'riic heavy rains will prevent the M.ahabaleshwur lining m.ade the site of cantonments, but as a sana. ,'ium they are invaluable.
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